The climate emergency has been, as it so often is, pushed to the sidelines when more evidently immediate dangers emerge. Global lockdowns have hampered the visibility of the climate movement just at the moment when international climate strikes were making headlines and forcing politicians to take the issue seriously. However, the pandemic and the rising temperature of the planet should not be seen as distinct and separate issues. If anything, the spread of COVID-19 should highlight the immediate dangers and potential future catastrophes of an ever-encroaching global climate crisis.

It is perhaps ironic that the one thing that enables so much in the world is an illusion. Its value does not arise intrinsically but instead from a collective belief that it can be used to acquire real things. To create it, governments and banks use an extensive system of inter-exchangeable loans: they, too, accept a belief that more of it will be returned to them in the future, often decades ahead. When that belief comes under question, entire economies come crashing down.

As the nights are drawing in, and the winter months are finally taking their hold, a lot of minds have turned to Christmas. Whilst some may claim it still to be ‘too early’ to worry about such things, there is a definite festive feel in the air! For many of us Christmas brings a time of celebration, especially post-pandemic, it allows us to congregate and celebrate together. Yet this year the usual joy is underlined by a communal sense of worry. With the cost-of-living crisis we are currently facing, and the cold weather only encouraging us to turn the heating up, many are worried about the disposable income needed to treat their loved ones this Christmas time. Well, look no further! Because I have complied some top tips for how your favourite literature can help spread joy this Christmas.

What happens when a small, self-represented charity finds itself in court against a claimant backed by a trained barrister? If the presiding judge is Jonathan Napier, the outcome seems almost inevitable: the charity loses—not because of the merits of the case, but because one side’s arguments are wholly disregarded while the other’s are upheld in their entirety. Justice is not blind—it peers over its scales to see who is wealthier, better dressed, and accompanied by legal muscle.